Chapter 540.5: The Curtain Rises
Matthew calmly gazed at the map and firmly stated:
"These dragon-blooded creatures could actually help rally our neighbors to defend their homes and increase support for adventurers."
Ralph the steward hesitated before asking Matthew:
"That shouldn't be a major issue, but the other territories still haven't paid the bounties yet."
With a slight smirk, Matthew pointed to several bright spots on the map and said matter-of-factly:
"It doesn't matter. Even if they don't pay in money, there's plenty else they can use to settle the debt."
Ralph followed Matthew's gaze and his eyes lit up with understanding.
Smiling, Ralph nodded and said:
"Understood. I'll inform the adventurers to intensify their efforts and make sure the surrounding territories owe us even more."
Matthew nodded in return, recalling the wave of dragon-blooded creatures and adding:
"Notify the armory to ramp up production of crossbow bolts and other consumables."
"Tell Old Li that we'll need more potions."
"Send a reminder to the Dwarven Kingdom—this 'Rage of Dragons' is different from before, and the underdark may not be safe either."
"Also, have Annie come over as soon as possible."
After giving his instructions, Matthew resumed sketching, seemingly working on new designs.
Ralph swiftly carried out the orders, sending the directives to the factories.
About ten minutes later,
Annie arrived at the office with a smile.
She was accompanied by several tall elven warriors, whose burly physiques contrasted with the typically slender and graceful build of elves.
Clearly, these were the elven berserker warriors.
Annie was very pleased with the combat prowess of these modified warriors.
However, for the time being, she had no intention of deploying them in battle.
Until their numbers reached a certain level, it was best to avoid letting the Elven Kingdom notice them.
Instead of speaking right away, Annie waited for Matthew to finish sketching before directly asking:
"What do you need me for?"
Matthew gestured for her to come closer, and in the wary gaze of the elven berserker warriors, casually asked:
"Are the other elven families ready to trade?"
Annie's face lit up with a smile, recalling the expressions of those families, and nodded in confirmation:
"Yes, they've been waiting for this. They'll certainly offer the highest prices."
A legendary elemental crystal plus 50 million gold coins worth of materials.
Matthew rubbed his nose and openly shared his intentions with Annie:
"This time, I'd like to obtain some shipbuilding technology for large vessels."
"If possible, Bay Territory also needs advanced puppet and golem crafting techniques."
"For this kind of technical expertise, Bay Territory is willing to offer a priority bidding allowance, with a 20% premium over the market price."
Annie quickly understood what Matthew meant.
Under normal auction conditions, Bay Territory might not immediately acquire what it needed.
This approach allowed Bay Territory to directly obtain the desired technology and maintain control over the process.
After all, in terms of strategic value, life trees were more enticing than even the most advanced magical knowledge.
With no elf willing to part with such treasures, it would surely give Bay Territory more leverage.
These thoughts raced through Annie's mind as she solemnly nodded and smiled at Matthew:
"Understood. I'll inform them immediately. I'm confident they'll have everything ready very soon."
"They should be able to deliver it all within half a day!"
Matthew nodded, urging Annie to move quickly.
Once Annie left, Matthew headed straight for the underground lab.
There, he began preparing a "gift" for the elves.
A single life tree wasn't enough to empty the elves' pockets.
Developing Bay Territory while causing trouble for the Cole Elf Kingdom—
This was Matthew's response.
Afternoon came quickly.
Yaya looked around curiously at the towering constructs, clearly noticing their enhanced appearance.
Their metallic shine was brighter, their aura more imposing, and their appearance noticeably more refined.
The fourth upgraded version of Dragon Knight Model 1 had integrated the alchemical expertise of both the gray dwarf and the dwarves.
Using superior metal materials, the constructs were not only lighter and more agile but also just as durable, with improved magical resistance.
Their physical resilience increased by two points, reaching a score of 28.
Their magical resistance rose by ten points, significantly reducing magical damage.
The teleportation array began to glow softly.
More elves than before appeared before Matthew.
There were many familiar faces and a few new ones.
There were many familiar faces, but also some new ones.
This time, Matthew was more confident and greeted them with a smile.
Unlike last time, he didn't ask Annie to introduce the elves to Bay Territory's various war tools.
Instead, he gave them a simple summary:
"The war supplies produced by Bay Territory have undergone a new round of updates and upgrades."
"Performance has improved by at least 30%, but prices have only increased by 15%."
"Any interested elven friends, feel free to take a closer look."
Compared to the curiosity and unfamiliarity of the last visit,
this time, many elven lords came closer.
Many of them were repeat customers who, over the course of recent battles, had been very satisfied with Bay Territory's war supplies.
"These enchanted crossbows and bolts are really good—they inflicted significant damage on the rebels."
"I recommend buying more anti-magic bolts; they're especially effective against caster units."
"The vitality potions and advanced nutrient solutions are also excellent. They greatly enhance endurance and prolonged combat capability, and they're quite affordable…"
The reason the elves praised Bay Territory's goods so highly
wasn't only that they were of great quality,
but also because Bay Territory offered attractive bulk purchase discounts!
The more units they bought together,
the bigger the discount Bay Territory provided.
The Ail elves, suffering under the relentless assault of the Cole Elf Kingdom, quickly completed their inspections and discussions.
Most of the supplies were fine and sparked the interest of many Ail elves.
But this time, Matthew didn't give them much time to examine things. He simply called out to all the elves:
"Folks, to satisfy everyone's demand for a life tree,"
"we've assembled dozens of experts and masters to concentrate on research, spending over several million gold coins' worth of resources to cultivate it."
"Since the success rate is not very high, we've set this price accordingly."
"If you're willing to trust us at Bay Territory, you can continue partnering with us in the future."
"Although we only have one life tree this time, we plan to trade one every three months going forward."
The elves who had hurried over actually breathed a sigh of relief at Matthew's admission of being able to cultivate a life tree.
They had already examined and confirmed that the life tree from the last trade was perfectly fine.
Although the price set by Bay Territory was steep, most elven lords gritted their teeth and accepted it.
After all, the additional life water and longevity they gained would be enough to recoup their costs.
Of course, some Ail elves still wanted to obtain Bay Territory's techniques and secrets for cultivating life trees,
but when they saw the dozens of Dragon Knight Model 1 golems standing nearby, they quickly dismissed any such thoughts.
The transaction was concluded swiftly.
Kerryell, the leader of the Ail Elves' Kinwood Clan, obtained the ownership of this life tree.
In addition to providing a legendary elemental crystal and 30 million gold coins' worth of magical materials and plants,
he also supplied technology for building five-masted warships and three upgraded steel golem designs.
The five-masted warship technology would enable Bay Territory to develop the eastern coastline.
The latter inspired both Macaron and Victor,
helping them advance their golem-making techniques further.
What intrigued Matthew most was that the Ail elves didn't bid aggressively among themselves this time.
It seemed that they had agreed beforehand on who would get the life tree.
Instead, they showed their individual preferences and interests while browsing the various war supplies.
Most of the elven lords favored the enchanted crossbows produced by Bay Territory.
This was thanks to improvements made in dragon-slaying crossbow technology.
These advancements also enhanced the killing power and technical performance of the enchanted crossbows.
As a result, these highly cost-effective, easy-to-deploy, and immediately effective weapons won them over.
Some elven lords also wanted to buy Bay Territory's dragon-slaying crossbows.
While dragon-slaying crossbows weren't particularly effective against ordinary Cole elf units,
they were highly destructive against war constructs and golems.
After "hesitating" for a while, Matthew declined their request.
Instead, he introduced them to a specially prepared item:
"The unique mutagen toxin from the Catachan Plane!"
"This is more suitable for defensive battles,"
"and it provides a killing power that's not only on par with the dragon-slaying crossbows, but also more convenient and efficient."
Matthew held up a vial of emerald green mutagen toxin.
The elven lords nearby were immediately drawn to it, as if the toxin could pull their gaze and even their very souls into it.
With a gentle cough from Kerryell, the other elves snapped back to their senses.
They now regarded the mutagen toxin with both awe and caution.
Matthew's deliberate demonstration had piqued their curiosity.
As they watched intently, Matthew uncorked the vial.
The emerald green mutagen toxin seemed to come alive, curling upward eagerly.
With a single tap at the bottle's mouth, Matthew caused the writhing toxin to instantly freeze in place.
Some extraordinary elven spellcasters studied this demonstration closely, their eyes revealing astonishment.
It was clear that Matthew had mastery over the power of time.
Matthew, unfazed by their reactions, dabbed a bit of the mutagen toxin onto a standard enchanted bolt.
He loaded it into a crossbow and aimed at a steel golem set up in a defensive stance in the distance.
With a pull of the trigger, the bolt flew silently.
Upon hitting the golem's thick, solid arm, the bolt triggered a sudden transformation.
A burst of emerald green light erupted, leaving a gaping hole in the golem's sturdy limb.
The sound of sizzling corrosion echoed clearly in the ears of the elven lords.
They watched closely as the bolt penetrated the golem's arm and buried itself in its chest, eating away a hole the size of a fist.
The golem's entire body was now scarred with emerald green lesions, its movements becoming sluggish and stiff, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Such impressive destructive power made all the elven lords' eyes light up.
Not only was the damage exceptional, but the fact that the toxin could be applied to ordinary bolts for firing was a huge advantage.
To the elven lords, this made it an even more valuable asset.
After all, this unexpected killing power could yield highly effective results.
When the Corellian elves launched their attacks, even their rank-and-file would fear ordinary bolts.
Who knew which bolt might carry a deadly dose of mutagen toxin?
This invisible deterrence could significantly ease the pressure on the defenders.
Matthew explained the mutagen toxin's characteristics to them:
"When ready to use, place the toxin in ice water to temporarily slow its activity."
"Then coat it onto bolts. Upon impact, it releases a strong corrosive effect on metal."
"It can easily destroy most metal defenses, except for rare metals like mithril and gold crystal."
"Its effect radius can reach up to two meters."
"However, this toxin does have a drawback."
"Once activated, its potency only lasts for two hours."
"After two hours, any opened toxin will become ineffective, and the corrosion effect on metals will fade away…"
As he spoke, Matthew gestured toward the heavily damaged steel golem in the distance.
The green lesions covering it slowly disappeared, and the golem's body returned to its original state, moving smoothly and freely.
If not for the gaping holes in its arms and chest, it might seem as though nothing had happened.
Of course, with a snap of Matthew's fingers, the badly damaged golem was instantly restored to pristine condition.
Matthew's adept use of the power of time
made a deep impression on the elven lords.
Few would dare to fight against someone who wielded time itself.
The mutagen toxin's performance left the elven lords highly satisfied.
While it had its limitations, its effectiveness in defense against the Corellian elves' war constructs and golem armies was undeniable.
Seeing their approval, Matthew set a price that made them wince:
"Each vial of mutagen toxin requires the defeat of a very powerful demon from the Catachan Plane, and its production is quite limited."
"Each vial costs 200,000 gold coins. I've only produced 50 vials so far—first come, first served."
Yaya, standing nearby, looked more and more impressed.
"Wow, what a smooth talker…"